Every spring, thousands of music fans gather in the California desert for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, one of the most influential and star-studded music festivals in the world. Coachella began in 1999 and over the years it has attracted massive crowds, hosted genre-spanning lineups, and delivered unforgettable live moments to fans. The festival takes place over two consecutive weekends on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Each day has one headliner which is usually a big name artist at the time. With the festival running for 25 years now, there have been hundreds of legendary headlining performances. It is very hard to choose the best, but undeniably some shows stand out among the rest.

10. Harry Styles (2022)

Only one person could take the Coachella stage dressed in a sequined catsuit, and that is Harry Styles. In 2022, the “human disco ball” performed the headlining set on Friday night of the festival weekend. He made his performance a pop-rock spectacle by incorporating rock-infused renditions of his pop hits with a heavy guitar sound from his band. Since this was just a few weeks before his new album Harry’s House was set to come out, the audience got to hear new songs, such as “As It Was” and “Late Night Talking,” performed live for the first time ever. Styles brought out Shania Twain for a surprise duet of “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” and “Still The One,” which was a major highlight of the night. He rounded things off with “What Makes You Beautiful,” a song by One Direction, the popular boy band Styles used to be a member of; “Watermelon Sugar;” and an encore of “Sign of the Times.” By delivering quality performances and dazzling showmanship, Styles made his set one to remember.

9. Ariana Grande (2019)

Setting the record as the youngest headliner the festival has ever seen, Ariana Grande made history with her Coachella set in 2019. She entered the stage to a cheering crowd, establishing her powerful stage presence and angelic voice with two songs from her album Sweetener, “raindrops“ and “God is a Women.” Grande took the crowd on a journey throughout her set, swaying through her slow, emotional songs like “needy” and “breathin,” and dancing to her upbeat pop songs including “sweetener” and “Love Me Harder.” She stunned everybody when she brought out NSYNC to perform her hit “break up with your girlfriend.” Her friend Nicki Minaj also joined her on stage to perform their collaborative tracks “Side to Side” and “Bang Bang.” Her outstanding voice stole this performance, and it will continue to be remembered as a pop masterpiece.

8. Tyler, The Creator (2024)

Tyler, The Creator’s 2024 headlining set was the embodiment of a high-energy, creative performance. He started out with a bang (literally) as he threw himself through the wall of a fake trailer while pyrotechnics went off in the crowd as he emerged on stage. For his opening numbers he performed “WusYaName,” “Lumberjack,” and “Dogtooth,” all off of his album Call Me If You Get Lost. He fully owned the stage, dancing around it with his signature odd but smooth moves. Tyler’s hilarious banter with the audience is also what made this performance as great as it is. He made it the ultimate entertaining and exciting experience for fans. He surprised the audience with many special guests including Childish Gambino, A$AP Rocky, and Kali Uchis. This performance exceeded every expectation and will go down as one of the festival’s most creative sets of all time.

7. Lady Gaga (2017)

As a last minute fill in for Beyonce who was originally announced as the Saturday night headliner of Coachella in 2017, Lady Gaga rose to the occasion and put on an electrifying performance with just roughly two weeks to prepare. She kicked off her set with fast cut images, including Gaga with a snake coming out of her mouth, before she emerged on stage. The crowd welcomed her with excited screams as she performed hits that included “Just Dance,” “Telephone,” and “The Edge Of Glory.” The performance featured high-fashion styling and intense theatrical choreography that kept the audience mesmerized. Knowing the performer that Gaga is, there wasn’t much question surrounding whether she would deliver an entertaining show. But for an act brought in as a late replacement, the immaculate care and attention to detail was truly impressive.

6. Kendrick Lamar (2017)

Kendrick Lamar took the Coachella stage in 2017 just two days after releasing his new album DAMN. Leading up to the festival, Lamar was faced with a lot of media attention surrounding his performance, mostly because of the failure that was Drake’s headlining set at the festival two years prior. Lamar and Drake are often compared to each other because of their similar rapping and performing styles, so some people were worried that Lamar’s set would be just as underwhelming as Drake’s was. But the doubters were quickly silenced as he delivered a “knockout” of a set that defined his status as a top-tier artist. He opened the show by debuting tracks from his new album and then transitioned into his all time hits. He performed “Money Trees,” “Alright,” “m.A.A.d city,” and “King Kunta.” The show wouldn’t be complete without featured guests, such as Travis Scott and Future, who both performed their own songs as well as songs with Lamar. This memorable headlining set brought his brand new album DAMN. to life alongside fan favorites and will be remembered as one of the best.

5. Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg (2012)

Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s headlining set delivered one of the most groundbreaking moments in music history. Its celebration of  West Coast hip-hop featured guest performances from Eminem, 50 cent, Kendrick Lamar, and more. But most famously it brought deceased rapper, Tupac Shakur, back to life in hologram form. The crowd was stunned as the hologram performed two songs with Dre and Snoop Dogg to honor Tupac’s legacy. Some of their other notable performances of the night were “Young, Wild & Free” with Wiz Khalifa, “In Da Club” with 50 Cent, “Still Dre,” and “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thing.”  The hip-hop veterans delivered an outstanding and entertaining performance that did their home state justice.

4. Kanye West (2011)

For being one of the world’s biggest stars at the time, Kanye’s Coachella set didn’t reflect his fame, but it still goes down as one of the greatest festival sets in modern music history. West came to Coachella to work, to do away with any sideshows, and get straight down to business. He intended for this performance to be a personal artistic statement that showcased his raw talent. He delivered an emotional 24 track setlist featuring a Black Swan inspired performance by ballerinas, a Greek mythology inspired stage design with backup dancers posed as a Greek chorus, and a guest performance from Bon Iver. He played hits like “Gold Digger,” “Flashing Lights,” “Heartless,” and a famous emotional rendition of “Runaway.” Many viewers in the audience described it as a “life-changing” show that will go down as one of the best in his career.

3. Prince (2008)

After not being featured in the original announcement of the 2008 Coachella lineup, Prince would be confirmed to perform at the festival just weeks before it took place. Despite being a last minute addition, his performance is considered legendary and one of the best in the festival’s history. His set list included his classic hits, such as “Purple Rain,” “1999,” and “Little Red Corvette.” But he also performed unexpected covers from The Beatles, Sarah McLachlan, and an iconic 8-minute rendition of Radiohead’s “Creep.” Prince turned this song into a “gospel masterpiece,” featuring a masterful, show-stopping guitar performance that left the audience in awe. The notoriously protective artist did not allow any footage of this performance online for 6 years until he was talked into letting the “Creep” footage resurface in 2014. Prince’s iconic appearance helped solidify Coachella’s reputation for securing legendary, unpredictable, and high-profile headliners for years to come. 

2. Daft Punk (2006)

Daft Punk is a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They are known for their house music and techno style, along with wearing iconic robot helmets in public. They took the stage at Coachella on April 29th, 2006, where they delivered a groundbreaking performance that revolutionized live electronic music. Their set design was a huge spectacle, debuting a massive LED-covered pyramid, which created a stunning, futuristic visual experience. Rather than playing pre-mixed tracks like most other DJ festival sets, Daft Punk used samplers and keyboards to remix their discography in real-time. It was a defining moment in Coachella’s Sahara tent, where over 40,000 people tried to enter a 10,000 capacity tent. Daft Punk delivered a synchronized audiovisual performance that changed the expectation of live dance music forever.

1. Beyonce (2018)

They don’t call her Queen B for no reason. Beyonce’s 2018 Coachella set–often referred to as “Beychella”–is widely considered to be not only the best performance in festival history, but also the most culturally impactful as Beyonce became the first black woman to ever headline Coachella. This historical performance started off to the sound of marching drums as the stage filled with an entire marching band and Beyoncé was revealed on a catwalk dressed in a royal headdress and a long sparkling cape. After her entrance, she changed into an iconic yellow hoodie with the letters BAK across her chest, a tribute to the black fraternities and sororities founded at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in America. By the end of her time at Coachella, Beyonce donated over $400,000 to HBCUs. She started the show with her first ever breakout solo hit from 2003, “Crazy In Love,” followed by songs including “Freedom,” “Formation,” and “Drunk in Love,” where she towered above the crowd on a contraption that looked like a ladder to heaven. The music itself felt celestial as she reworked her entire discography with live instrumentation, enhancing the jazz tones via brass that gave it a timeless feel. It felt like a richer, more unified body of work, the ultimate best-of compilation. While her star power was more than enough to fuel her performance, she went to the next level and surprised the crowd with guest performances from her husband Jay-Z, her sister Solange, and a Destiny’s Child reunion with Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. This performance was so iconic and impactful that it was later made into the Netflix documentary Homecoming.